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Heard the latest news? The middle class is getting a tax hike. What a shock. I hate to say "I told you so," but I told you so. Yes indeedy, all you middle class geniuses who voted for "hope" and "change" can now HOPE that after the new tax increases kick in you're left with a bit of small CHANGE. Allow me to remind you once again of the actual words of President Barack Hussein Obama when he said in one of his eloquent campaign speeches, "My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join me as we try to change it." Oh yeah. That's like a chef who says "This recipe is perfect. It's delicious! Okay, now let's change all the ingredients and measurements in it."

It seems Obama's treasury secretary and his chief economic advisor made the rounds of the Sunday morning TV news shows this past week to lay the ground work and let America know that higher taxes are a-comin'. Just like the shrimp boats in that old song, "taxes are a-comin'…they're comin' our way."

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Sunday he cannot rule out higher taxes to help tame an exploding budget deficit, and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers would not dismiss raising them on middle-class Americans as part of a health care overhaul. One guy says taxes are going up, the other guy says it will be on the middle-class. Ah, the old one/two punch. It's like good cop/bad cop except they're both bad cops.

Both of Obama's henchmen sidestepped questions on just what exactly Obama's intentions about taxes are. Geithner said the White House was not ready to rule out a tax hike to lower the federal deficit; and Summers said Obama's proposed health care overhaul needs funding from somewhere. Funding from somewhere? Gee, I wonder where that somewhere could be. Mars maybe?

Remember, during his presidential campaign, Obama repeatedly vowed "you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime." But, hey, HE WAS ONLY KIDDING! CAN'T YOU TAKE A JOKE? Or maybe it all depends on the meaning of the phrase "tax increase." Or maybe he meant you will not literally see your taxes increase one single DIME, but you will see your taxes increase by hundreds and hundreds of DOLLARS.

At the same time Geithner and other administration officials were threatening middle-class tax increases, they are contemplating how to ask Congress to extend -- again -- unemployment benefits for the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in recent months. More benefits to the unemployed, more benefits for welfare recipients, benefits for people buying new cars, benefits for people buying new homes, benefits for the auto industry, benefits for the mortgage industry, benefits, benefits all over the place.

The fact is if the Federal government keeps paying out benefits to some, they need to bring in more money from others. Period. Yes, it's just that simple. If you buy things; you've got to get money to pay for them. Every new federal program (such as healthcare), every new initiative (such as the so-called stimulus package), and every bailout (such as automobile and banking) will increase costs by the billions and trillions. If you don't raise the federal deficit, then you have got to raise taxes. Ain't no other way.

Want to raise taxes? Poor people don't care - they haven't got any money. Rich people don't care - they have so much money it doesn't bother them to loss a bit. It's the middle class that get shafted ….AGAIN! The great middle-class gets punched right in their great big middle. But remember …I told you so. I tried to warn you over a year ago. When oh when will you people listen to me? Why did I know this would happen? Is it because I'm so brilliant? No. It's just that I pay attention and do fact checking.

So you will excuse me if I adopt the Claude Rains attitude from "Casablanca" when he found out that illegal gambling was going on at Rick's Café Americain. To paraphrase Mr. Raines from that pictue, "Obama is raising taxes on the middle-class? Oh, I'm shocked! Shocked!"

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JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.